Assessment of Selected Physicochemical Properties of Soils under Different Land Uses and Topographic Positions at Gola Wachu Subwatershed, Eastern Ethiopia

Abstract

Understanding the influence of land use types and topographic positions on soil physical and chemical properties is vital for sustainable soil management. Therefore, this study was initiated to assess the selected physicochemical properties of soils under different land uses and topographic positions in the subwatershed. The subwatershed area was divided into three land use types (cultivated, grazing, and fallow) and topographic positions (lower, middle, and upper). A total of 27 composite soil samples were collected from (0–20 cm) depth for analysis. All analyzed selected soil physicochemical properties were significantly different by using the least significance difference (LSD) test (P<0.05) for each type of land use, except for soil texture, C/N, and percent base saturation (PBS). The soil textural classes of all land-use types at each topographic position were clay loam. Overall, the results indicate that most of the selected soil physicochemical properties were lower in soils of cultivated land at each topographic position, signifying that management of soil fertility is required to make agriculture sustainable in subwatershed.